Xbox One

When Microsoft burst onto the home console gaming scene, many thought that it would be difficult for its Xbox console to get a foothold in a very dense and competitive market. However, with features such as a gamer-friendly design, a pioneering online infrastructure, and a catalogue of some of the most hallowed franchises in gaming today, the Xbox brand quickly rose to the top, proving itself to be a key player in console gaming. Today, the Xbox One family of consoles deliver some of the most powerful gaming experiences available.

The Xbox One family

The flagship model of the Xbox One family is the Xbox One X, which is the most powerful Microsoft home console to date, and likely the most powerful among any of its competitors as well. The Xbox One X runs on the Scorpio Engine, which features an industry-leading 6 teraflops of graphical computing performance. It is capable of breathtaking 4K resolution, with a vast library of “Xbox One X Enhanced” games optimized to take advantage of this feature. The Xbox One X is also fully capable of reading disc-based 4K media, which means it can play 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, along with being able to stream 4K content.

The Xbox One S is the more economical member of the Xbox One family. Although it is less powerful than the Xbox One X, it is still capable of both streaming and playing disc-based 4K games and media, including every title in the Xbox One library. The Xbox One S also comes in a disc-free streaming-only model, which excludes the optical media drive.

Both the Xbox One X and Xbox One S are also backwards-compatible with an ever-growing library of titles from previous Xbox console generations, including the Xbox 360 and original Xbox. Original game discs can be inserted into and Xbox One console to verify ownership, or conversely purchased new as digital downloads from the Xbox Live digital marketplace.

Epic game franchises on the Xbox One

Xbox is home to some of the most popular and revolutionary franchises in gaming today, so naturally new entries to these fan-favourite series’ are available on the Xbox One. This includes sequels to acclaimed franchises such as Halo (Halo 5) and Gears of War (Gears of War 4 and Gears 5), as well as yearly additions to Microsoft’s celebrated Forza racing brand, with the likes of Forza 5, 6, and 7 as well as Forza Horizon 2, 3, and 4, just to name a few.

Thank to backwards compatibility, the entire catalogue of nearly every huge award-winning Xbox franchise is fully playable on any Xbox One console as well. In addition to the juggernauts listed above, this also includes beloved series’ such as Fable, Crackdown, and many more.

The Xbox platform is also leading the charge in digital accessibility, with initiatives such as “Xbox Play Anywhere” titles, where digital purchases can be played on either the Xbox One console or a Windows 10 PC, or the immensely popular digital library subscription service “Xbox Game Pass”.

Other features of the Xbox One

Microsoft essentially pioneered online console gaming with its “Xbox Live” program, and the service is still going strong on the Xbox One platform. Xbox Live offers a rich, robust, and user-friendly platform for co-operative and competitive online multiplayer gaming, in-game chat, party, and matchmaking services, video game streaming and viewing through its exclusive partner Mixer, and much, much more.

An Xbox Live Gold-level subscription also offers access to “Games with Gold”, a monthly service that offers free game downloads to active users.